“You can do this; I have the utmost faith in you.”
His words washed over me, filling me with confidence and pride at the certainty of his tone. Except… I took a step back. “Wait… are you glamouring me?”
Maxime let out a laugh that revealed his fangs. He reached up with both hands to cup my cheeks and pull my face down. He pecked a quick kiss on my lips, startling me with the action. Releasing me, I felt more dazed than I had under his intense stare. There was no heat to it—it was a totally platonic kiss—but I wasn’t used to that sort of thing.
Although he was a vamp of—redacted—years old, so casual affection was probably nothing new for him, like it was for me.
He patted my chest and chuckled. “Oh, Rudolph, it is such a delight to meet you in person. You are exactly what I was expecting.”
“Thanks, uh, yeah, you too.” Unable to determine if that was good or bad, I decided to change topics. “Where’s Kieran? Zee said he was here already.”
Maxime shot a look at the griffin shifter whose eyes lit with amusement. “He’s here, butsomeonethought it would be a good idea to ask about the dimensions of the mainbuilding.”
“And that’s a problem…why? It seems like it would be useful information to know, especially as we start planning out the layout.”
“Because now Kieran won’t stop until it’s finished.” Maxime’s voice was laced with exasperation while Zee snickered.
“Oh.” It was my only response, but I didn’t want to let on that I didn’t understand, which wasn’t new. I often felt like I wasn’t in on the jokes or understood what people were talking about.Smile and nodwas my default state more often than not.
Maxime didn’t bother to expand on it either. Instead, he looked out over the large entranceway. “I feel really good about this. It’s got everything we need. This building will become the main part of the inn, but there are also small studios around the property that we can convert into private casitas with unique features for a variety of guests. Malterra itself has a lot of terrain available, from the coastline with access to water, as well as woods and trees, which will be beneficial to beings of all types.”
He led us around the dilapidated building, which had paint peeling from the walls, the occasional broken floorboard, and upended and rotting furniture. As we went, Maxime pointed out what each room could potentially be, seeing past the current state it was in. He had always been the one with the vision. Maxime saw it so clearly that it made it easy for us to follow along, wanting to be a part of it. The vividway he described things had me genuinely smiling and nodding, and not in the way I did when I didn’t grasp something.
It was a big undertaking, but I’d never been more excited to take something like this on. To do it at all was one thing, but it was entirely different coming into this with my closest group of friends. Friends who made me feel like I actually had something to contribute. Admittedly, I would have doneanythingsimply to feel included, which wasn’t something I felt a lot, not until meeting everyone online. This was something I actuallywantedto do, and not just because of FOMO.
When we reached the rundown kitchen, Zee separated from us to study the area that would be his domain. He was seldom serious, except when it came to food. Zephyr had been coming up with all kinds of ideas about the menu and food options.
Maxime continued to give me the full tour. We found Kieran, whose lithe form was hunched over as he took careful, measured steps. He never looked up when we entered the room.
“Hey, Kieran!” I called out, hoping to get his attention.
A simple grunt was all that came from him. We’d grown close in our group chat, and I’d never gotten the impression from him that he was unfriendly. So why was he ignoring me at our first meeting?
Maxime clapped my shoulder, and leaned in. “It’s not personal, Rudolph. He can’t stop in the middle of a task or he’ll have to start over. It’s a compulsion.”
“Okay.” Despite Maxime’s brief explanation, worry niggled in my mind, wondering if he was avoiding me. It was probably amething, especially if he really couldn’t help it.
After seeing the full building, Maxime brought me back to the main hall. His red-rimmed eyes sparkled as he stood with wide arms. “This will be our lobby, and my desk—the front desk—will be right over here.”
I stood there and scanned the room. Broken furniture lay in tatters, making it seem as though the previous tenants had left in a hurry. What happened here? They were theNavy, for fuck’s sake. What scared the Navy? How bad was this curse exactly?
With Maxime looking at the space with pride and confidence, without a hint of worry on his face, I pushed past my fears and let his vision spark hope in me. “This is actually happening, huh?”
Maxime smiled as he faced me. “Yes, it is.”
“Do you think we could ever compete with Catalina? I mean, it still seems pretty busy, and it’s their off-season.”
The small vampire placed a hand on my arm. “We don’t need to compete with them. That’s not what we’re doing this for. We’re offering something special and meeting a need so few can. Tell me, Rudy, would you feel comfortable taking a vacation on thebig island? Would you have been able to let your guard down and relax?”
Shaking my head, I felt the sting in my palms where my claws had pierced them in my clenched fists earlier. “No. I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. I felt like I was going to lose control and kept seeing the possible headlines if I did.”
His hand squeezed my arm with reassurance. “It is the same for many supernatural beings. They need a place that is safe and inclusive, which is something we can offer them.”
A safe place. There weren’t many of those for people like us, especially now with camera phones and internet detectives. If Maxime had said that he wanted to build a bar or a bowling alley, oranything, I would have been on board, but this was something bigger. Something important, and I wanted to be a part of bringing it to life.
“Cool,” I said, trying not to show how moved I was.
A rustling sound came from across the room, making Maxime stiffen at my side. My heart lodged in my throat, but no other physical response came. My beast was completely unreliable, abandoning me when I might need it.Thanks a lot.
